How to deter cats - unwanted visitors

Cats are creatures of habit, treat them like burglars, make
it a bit awkward and they will take the easy option and go elsewhere

One
way to deter cats is supposed to be to get a cat of your own.
The idea is it makes the garden its territory and other neighbourhood
cats don't get a look in. It doesn't always work being dependent
on how aggressive and territorial your cat is. On the same lines,
I've found a dog is a much better way of deterring cats, my
Cairn Terrier flies down the garden when she sees one which
then beats a hasty retreat.

The main reason to deter cats is that they dig holes
in places they deem suitable in order to deposit their unpleasant
little packages. The nice soft earth that they like
best of all seems to be a newly prepared seed bed and what is
more insulting than a cat coming and s******g in it when you've
done? Especially as you then need to go and make amends, not
knowing quite when you'll find the prize in the bran-tub. Tom
cats also have a tendency to "spray" - their urine - in order
to scent mark the edges of their territory, most unpleasant
if one of their marking posts is just outside your door or barbeque
area.

The main pertinent facts
are that:

Not all cats are the same, they have different
dislikes and tolerances.

Cats will take the path of least resistance,
so if you make things difficult for them, they may well
just give up and go somewhere else.

If your garden in is an especially convenient location and/or
they are particularly stubborn it will take longer to deter
some particular individual cats than others. Back to my terrier
for instance, I only rarely see cats crossing the garden and
if I do, that is literally all they do, cross as quickly as
they can as they have had the experience of being chased by
a large, fast-moving, scruffy furball fronted with snappy teeth
at some point.

So rather than dive in with a high tech solution,
do the simple thing first, if they are using a piece
of ground or somewhere in your garden as a toilet, inconvenience
them by covering it temporarily with a piece of wood or weighted-down
plastic etc. It won't be there forever, just give it a couple
of weeks during which time the cat will have had to make other
arrangements and hopefully stick to the new habit, then you
can go back to normal.

If the simple thing doesn't work, then there are
a whole range of other things to try, for every one
of these you will find people who say it worked quickly and
completely and others for whom it just didn't work at all, different
cats and different circumstances.

Cat Repellents - Traditional
Methods

Plants - there are a number that are
said to deter cats, positioning is important here, they
need to be at the point where they enter or move about the
garden (though obviously it is easy enough for the cat to
avoid them after a while) as it usually requires the cat
to brush against them and so release the smell, just having
the plant somewhere in the garden isn't going to do the
trick.

Scardey cat plant - Plectranthus
caninus, Coleus canina. See bottom of page for
more information, best grown in containers so that it
can be moved around the garden to find the best position
for it. Extensively marketed a few years ago, less so
today.

Lavender - I think lavender has
a place in everyone's garden, so the fact that cats
don't like it is a bonus.

Rosemary - with the added benefit
of being used in cooking, let it establish for a year
or two before you start cutting bits off it though or
it will always look sorry for itself.

St. John's herb / Curry plant -
Helichrysum angustifolium or italicum. Can
be mildly invasive if it gets too comfortable.

The Cat's Protection League recommend
diluted surgical spirit spread over the
offending region. Be careful not to get it on any plants
though and it'll be easily washed away by rain. Works better
wooden fences as it soaks in and so is longer lasting. I've
never tried, but soaking rough wooden sticks in it and then
pushing them into the soil might work in a similar way.

Moth balls- more weather resistant

A tautly strung wire or string fitted 10-15
cm above the top of a fence used by cats makes
it difficult for them to balance, as do climbing plants
and trellis on top.

Mushroom compost- used as a mulch,
don't get too carried away though as it tends to be fairly
alkaline, so continually adding it year after year could
restrict the plants you can grow.

Hi Tech Cat Repellents

Motion sensor devices connected to an ultrasonic
sound source or a sprinkler attached to a hose pipe, that make
a noise inaudible to humans or spray water when something moves
into the range of the device. Need some tweaking to set them
up, though can be effective once in place, also deter other
animals from your garden too such as foxes, badgers etc.

"Experiments with over 300 plants have now produced the
ultimate deterrent. Cats, dogs and even foxes will avoid
the Pee-off plant as its affectionately known. Coleus canina
has excellent foliage and small, attractive spikes of blue
flowers in the summer, and releases a stench that cats cant
stand. Thankfully it only smells to the human nose when
touched! Could this be the solution to your feline intruder
problems you've been longing for? Annual, but can easily
be propagated and cuttings kept in a frost-free place over
winter. Plants need to be established before the smell is
released, be in drier rather than wet soil and planted every
1-2 metres. Supplied as cell-raised plants."

Best planted in containers (and regarded
as functional rather than hugely ornamental - it does provide
good vivid greenery as a foil to other plants though), that
way they'll grow quicker to an effective size and you'll
be able to move them around and experiment with the best
place to put them. I found out recently that over 9 million
plants were sold across Europe in the first two years of
it being available!

Repels cats, dogs, foxes and rabbits

I have grown coleus canina for several years
on the corners of the front of my property, tucked
into a perennial bed near the roses. I bought it as
"Dog be gone," and it is also sold as "Bunny be gone," so
must work on rodents.

Because the leaves are fleshy, like a succulent, it takes
rather arid conditions and can live in full sun, unlike
any coleus I've seen. (I live in Southern California, USA
and we get summer weather of over 100 degrees F for up to
a week at a time)

It spreads somewhat freely but not with long runners
like my favorite pest plant, common mint. Spreading
does not occur until it is established. I end up trimming
back the edges, like a stand of dusty miller, to keep it
within the three foot circles I have given it. I've lost
it twice, due to garden makeovers, but it comes back very
easily from cuttings.

Dogs cannot stand it, and "snufft" when they put their
nose in. It smells much stronger than marigolds
when bruised. It should be put somewhere that won't receive
constant touching by legs or feet passing by.

Because the leaves are not variegated, just medium green,
the four-inch long, 3/4 in wide, fleshy bright purple flowers,
which are very unusual, are attractive in a Mars landscape
sort of way. They are unlike other coleus I've seen.
I get good comments from passersby every year, as though
I made them unusual and not God. Because of their blooms
I keep them, but because of their smell they definitely
should not be something one would put at the back door!

Christine Gille

About the coleus canina: IT WORKS!!!I tried it, and in a few days, no more cats and
dogs around my patio!